BJP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha has called for greater political authority for women, saying India’s focus must move beyond women’s participation in elections to enabling them to govern and exercise decision-making power.Speaking at the 12th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, during a session on “Ensuring Political Rights for Women”, Chadha said India was moving from “women’s development” to “women-led development” under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.“Don’t just ask women to vote. Enable them to govern. Don’t just give them a seat. Give them authority,” Chadha said in a video shared on X after his address.Citing the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Chadha said more than 476 million women were registered voters and their turnout was around 67 per cent, slightly higher than that of men. He said this was the second consecutive General Election in which women’s participation exceeded that of men.“Indian women are not waiting at the doors of democracy, they are helping determine its direction,” he said.Chadha said India had around 1.45 million elected women representatives in Panchayati Raj institutions, accounting for approximately 46 per cent of representatives at that level. He also said 21 states had gone beyond the constitutional minimum by providing 50 per cent reservation for women in panchayats.At the national and state levels, Chadha referred to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (women reservation Bill), saying it created a constitutional path towards one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative Assemblies.“This is not merely representation. It is the voice, the authority and the decision-making power being given to women,” he said.Chadha said India’s message from Samarkand was to ensure that women were not merely beneficiaries or participants in democracy but decision-makers.“Do not only speak of empowerment. Build institutions that make it irreversible,” he said.At the 12th IPU Conference in Samarkand, I spoke for India in the session on “Ensuring Political Rights for Women.”Under the leadership of Hon’ble PM, India is moving from women’s development to women-led development: record female voter participation, 1.45 million women… pic.twitter.com/APGwn0IqMt— Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) September 10, 2026